Quahogs

The hard shell clam, or quahog (also spelled quahaug), Mercenaria mercenaria, is a very important fishery resource in the region.  The fishery dates back to the Native Americans who ate the shellfish meat and made wampum beads made from quahog shells. The wampum served as a form of currency and the shells of purple colorations were more valuable.  The quahog fishery today includes both traditional capture fisheries and culture operations.  To help enhance the current fishery, the Cape Cod Cooperative Extension has assisted municipalities with the purchase of seed and researched techniques for improved survival and growth.

Quahogs are found just below the sand or mud surface from the tidal zone and into the shallow coastal waters.  They use a muscular foot to dig into the sediment and incurrent and excurrent siphons oriented near the surface to pump in water for feeding and respiration.  Hard clams are filter feeders extracting their nutrition largely from the phytoplankton they filter out of the water as it crosses their gills, clearing the water in the process.

In the market, quahogs are commonly classified by size: those at least 1" thick and up to about 2.5" long are known as a littlenecks, intermediate sizes of 2.5 to 3" are generally cherrystones, and the big ones 3" or larger are known as chowders.  Quahogs are also high in nutritional value being good sources of protein, Omega-3 fatty acids, iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium and zinc.  They can be eaten raw on the half shell or served in a wide variety of prepared dishes, the most popular of which are usually the fried of stuffed quahog varieties.